Barristan
Barristan Selmy, Lord Commander of Daenaerys Targaryen's Queensguard and Hand of the Queen, felt a knot form in his stomach as he overlooked the city of Meeren his post on Ghaston's Pyramid. On the outside of the city he could see the encampments of thousands upon thousands of soldiers all of them brought here to fight for Yunkai, to remove his queen from her seat of power in Slaver's Bay. The battle had been inevitable, the deaths of the hostages, the threat from the Sons of the Harpy, and the spreading of the Grey Plague, all of this was making Meeren volatile and perfect for an enemy to take.
On top of this was the fact that Daenaerys herself was not present in Meeren. Some thought she had been killed by Drogon that day in the fighting pits, others thought she had been killed in the great desert to the west of Meeren, and there was no clear consensus as to what had actually happened to Daenaerys for the people of Meeren, but most agreed that she was dead. Barristan was not convinced that Daenaerys was dead; he could not allow himself to believe that his queen was dead. She had to have survived, she was blood of the dragon, and dragons did not kill one of their own.
Barristan watched as the city below came to life, the Unsullied led by Grey Worm were managing the walls of the city, preparing for any of the battering rams and other such siege equipment that the Yunkish men might bring with them. Jorah Mormont, the slaver who the Queen had kept in her service, was marshalling the former slaves, the queen's children, ready for the battle that would come; the Shavepate had his Brazen Beasts prepared as well. All in all as Barristan heard a war horn being sounded out in the waste outside the city, they had done all they could to prepare for this battle, whether or not Rhaegal and Viserion would be of any help Barristan was not sure, but he did not wish to hedge his bets on two untamed dragons.
He sighed, and walked down the steps of Ghaston's Pyramid remembering all the previous battles he had fought in. The War of the Ninepenny Kings, where he had fought his way through the Golden Company and had been the one to end the threat of the Blackfyres once and for all, the Defiance of Duskendale where he had taken King Aerys out from right under Lord Denys' nose, the Trident where he had fought long and hard to protect Rhaegar, but had failed, Pyke, so many battles he had fought in, so many different outcomes. Whether or not he would survive this current battle he knew not, all he knew was that he would not fail his queen and allow the Yunkish men to take her city, and enslave her children.
He reached end of the steps from Ghaston's just where his silver steed Pride was saddled and waiting for him, just as the city below him began to stir. Barristan heard the shouts from Grey Worm and the Shavepate as they instructed their men to their positions, he heard Ser Jorah growling in the guttural tongue of the Queen's children, and as he mounted his horse, Ser Barristan said a quick prayer to the Warrior for strength, one last battle then he would lay his sword down and he could rest, one more battle that was all he asked. Winter was in his joints now, but he still had one more fight in him, one last stand for his queen.
He drew his sword and spurred his horse down the remaining steps of the pyramid, reaching its bottom he turned to look at the assembled army of former slaves, unsullied and Brazen Beasts and in as loud a voice as he could manage he bellowed "People of Meeren, we have a foe to fight today. A foe that will undo all the work that our Queen has done for us, they shall take us and enslave us for their petty games and enjoyment. But we shall not let them do this, we shall fight and we shall win!" The answering roar gave Barristan confidence, it filled him with hope.
Outside the city walls the horns of the enemy sounded once more, and the first signs of battle began as the walls began to shake with the impact of the battering ram. Ser Barristan stayed on his horse with his sword raised high, and shouted "Archers Fire!" As the command was relayed by Grey Worm and the Shavepate, arrows came flying through the sky toward the Yunkish men and their comrades, the sound of men being felled echoed through the air. Arrows continued to fly forth, some reached their target others soared past, some of the later arrows were laced in flames so as to better exact a high price on the Yunkishmen.
The city walls continued to shake with the effects of the battering ram, though it was less frequent than before. Still the arrows kept on flying and the sounds of men in their death throes or begging for mercy echoed throughout the air, and made Barristan feel grim, a warrior he was but that did not mean he found the death and destruction that came with war any easier. Arrows kept flying but the city gates could no longer stand the battering of the ram, and Barristan watched as they caved in, and the Yunkishmen and their allies came streaming into the city.
Barristan drew his sword and screamed a charge as loud as he could. Spurring his horse onward, he felt the stairs jar his shoulders but he simply grimaced in pain and kept going. His sword connected with the neck of a sellsword from the Windblown first, the man- or boy- head rolled from his body, blood spurted onto the ground and covered Barristan and his horse. Still he rode on, swinging and hacking at those on the ground who came to close toward him. Swinging, hacking, cutting and dodging, the flow of the battle continued like this for many a long moment, though it seemed like days were passing as Barristan kept swinging his sword, felling opponents left, right and centre. His sword was stained red with the blood of the foes he had killed, the ground was littered with bodies, and yet there did not seem to be an end to the men filing through the city gates.
The Yunkishmen and their allies seemed to be too many, no matter how many men were felled in however many charges had happened, more seemed to appear, ready to take the place of their fallen comrades. They had the men, but it seemed to Barristan that their ranks were breaking, as those who fought for Meeren either were slain or laid down their weapons and willingly walked to their deaths. More and more bodies littered the ground, and an increasing number of them were either Unsullied or former slaves that called Daenaerys their mother.
Still Barristan kept going, trying to rally as many men as possible, he led charge after charge at the approaching enemy. Swinging his sword, hacking at the enemy's heads, necks, chest, and shoulders anywhere that could draw blood and kill them, which were where Barristan swung his sword. He paused for a moment to catch his breath back, his sword was so covered in blood that the glint of steel was unrecognizable, the ground was littered with bodies, the earth drinking in the blood greedily, the sun was out and the temperatures was boiling, and yet still the Yunkishmen came. Barristan hacked, slashed, and cut his way through them trying to find a general or leader for him to kill that could perhaps turn the tide of the battle and perhaps end the strength and courage of the sellswords fighting for the Yunkishmen. Though there did not seem to be any sort of soldier there for him to kill.
His strength was beginning to lag, the power and timing of his swings and blows was beginning to lessen, he gained more injuries and blows than he dealt. Blood began to pour out of his armour in copious amounts; the world was beginning to spin. And still Barristan kept on swinging his sword, hoping against hope that he could at least bring some of the bastards with him before he died. A blow to his chest knocked him clean of his horse, and as he lay there in the dirt, he struggled to find the strength to get back up onto his feet and continue the fight. He could hear the footsteps of his killer coming, and braced himself for the killing blow, deciding that he would not die with his buried in the ground like a coward, he pushed himself up onto his elbows and watched as a giant brute of a man came walking toward him, an axe raised in his hands, but before the man could end Barristan, they both heard the sound of a roar, a fierce and angry roar, and there blocking out the sun with a pair of cream coloured wings was Viserion, the mighty she dragon, a jet of fire engulfed the Yunkishmen before Ser Barristan closed his eyes and saw no more.